How to reduce pressure on tailbone?

echofm1

I've been doing exercises recently that involve laying down and raising my legs into the air so my hips are at a roughly 90-degree angle (mainly toe-touch crunches and bicycle crunches). When I put my legs up though, there's an uncomfortable amount of pressure on my tailbone, even before I do any actual crunches. I've tried this with a mat before too and it doesn't really help the issue.

Since I don't hear many others complain about this, am I doing something wrong? It's preventing me (more than muscle fatigue) from completing the exercises. If anyone has a tip or suggestion to fix this, I'd really appreciate it.

sofaking6

Fold up a towel and put it under there. Also whenever you're doing core work like that you want to push your lower back down into the floor and keep it there - if you're arching your back that may be why it's hurting a lot.

I just did a DVD where they had you holding a weight over your stomach while doing lower-ab exercises, and interestingly enough I felt that it really kept my back flat. I had an 8lb dumbbell and just rested it on my belly. Might be worth a try

KarenJanine

Try placing your hands under your lower back for support and be sure to keep your abs really tight. It could be that your core is not yet strong enough, causing your back to do some of the work.

sjaplo

Stop doing crunches. There are many much better core exercises out there. Or if you must do crunches, do them on a swiss ball.

usmcmp

The good news is that crunches are not necessary to having a strong core or a flat stomach. If you do other resistance training just make sure you are engaging your core as you do them. This will actually help your entire core, not just your abs (which is what crunches do).

If you absolutely must do core work for whatever reason there are lots of ways that don't require you laying on the floor. Hanging leg raises, ab roller, Windmills, cable crunches, planks, side planks, pallof press and many many more.

echofm1

Thanks for the helpful comments! I've done the hands under my back, which helps, but the exercises recently have been using arms too, so I couldn't to that. It very well may be that I'm not strong enough or not keeping my abs tight enough. The dumbbell is a great suggestion too, in order to remind myself to have proper form.

And sjaplo, thank you for the suggestion, but crunches are only a small part of what I do when I do abs, and I often work other muscle groups when I do so. This is also an issue that has presented itself with any type of exercise where I'm laying on the ground and have my legs in the air, regardless of whether I'm doing a crunch. That's just the most recent example that brought me to the forums.

sofaking6

Another thing to check for is your breathing. If you're holding your breath during the exercises, you're actually offloading the work that your abs should be doing into your chest and back. So breathe!

Elise4270

I have a bit of the same issue. But I have fractures in that area and assumed it was related. I just avoid putting stress on that area. My physio said I had a boney butt. So I'm not any help but, I'm interested in how to modify.

sjaplo

echofm1 wrote: »

Thanks for the helpful comments! I've done the hands under my back, which helps, but the exercises recently have been using arms too, so I couldn't to that. It very well may be that I'm not strong enough or not keeping my abs tight enough. The dumbbell is a great suggestion too, in order to remind myself to have proper form.

And sjaplo, thank you for the suggestion, but crunches are only a small part of what I do when I do abs, and I often work other muscle groups when I do so. This is also an issue that has presented itself with any type of exercise where I'm laying on the ground and have my legs in the air, regardless of whether I'm doing a crunch. That's just the most recent example that brought me to the forums.

I'm not trying to be rude, but I can understand how crunches would put pressure on your tailbone, but not other exercises that have your legs in the air. Do you suffer the same issue with say a lower body russian twist?

Also are you clenching your butt when you do things like crunches and "boat" in pilates or yoga? That tends to lift your tailbone off the ground.

echofm1

sjaplo wrote: »

I'm not trying to be rude, but I can understand how crunches would put pressure on your tailbone, but not other exercises that have your legs in the air. Do you suffer the same issue with say a lower body russian twist?

Also are you clenching your butt when you do things like crunches and "boat" in pilates or yoga? That tends to lift your tailbone off the ground.

No, that's a very valid question, and part of the reason I'm here. I just tried a lower body Russian twist to check. While it's not as painful, I can definitely feel my tailbone pressing into the ground. If I were trying to do several of them, I'd probably put my hands beneath my butt to try to keep it a little more off the ground. I have a similar problem when doing regular Russian twists with my legs in the air, though I don't have the strength to manage that very well yet, so I haven't really been trying with that one and didn't think of it.

Maybe I just don't have as much cushion in that area as I should. I just discovered a really simple tweak to make my wrists stop hurting when I do a push up or plank, so I was hoping there would be something I could do for this. I'll try the butt clenching a bit more too, but I'm not sure I even can clench my butt enough to get my tailbone off the ground when my legs are straight up.